


I've got your Back

by superherolock



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Origin Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-26 19:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3861511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superherolock/pseuds/superherolock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natalia Romanova is an assasin who has strayed into SHIELD's path. An unsuspecting agent has come to take her out. But he makes a different call.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fanfic I have ever written and I don't know if you will like it or not. So please i would really appriciate comments on what you like and what could be improved on. Thank you in advance :)

Natalia Romanova spotted her target heading off towards the bar. Being such a striking woman it wasn't hard to order a drink from the barman as she smiled seductively towards him. She had been trained all her life for moments like this. She learnt from a very young age to follow orders. Her latest mission was no different. Eliminate Dimitri Yakovlev. However, this time she had some S.H.I.E.L.D agents tailing her, still, she had faced worse. She needed to take him out because he presented a threat to the Red Room. There was evidence to suggest that he was planning on going public about some of the K.G.B's more secretive missions.

 _Time to act_ , she thought to herself as she weaved her way through the crowd. Glancing over her shoulder to see if Dimitri would follow her. Sure enough he left the group with whom he was currently talking to and made his way over to her. _Men, disgusting, I saw him kissing another girl earlier_. Natalia put on her nicest smile as he reached down and took her hand; he brought it up to his mouth and kissed it.  
  "What is a stunning lady like you doing at a party like this all by yourself?" He asked in a deep voice.  
  "Waiting for a man to sweep me off my feet." She purred back, even though she was revolted by the thought of having to seduce this man.  
  "Well that can be arranged. “He led her off out of the main hall and down a grand hallway. She could sense the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents looking at her; she turned and winked at one of them as he began to follow. She only caught a glimpse of his reaction, but the terror on his face was what the Black Widow lived for. The walls ahead of her were covered in paintings of the grounds and previous owner’s eyes that seemed to follow her as she walked down. There was a rug as red as blood that trailed the centre of the hall. The grand, crystal chandeliers hung from the golden ceiling and cast out rays of light that sparkled and glinted off the shining picture frames and the glimmering windows. He led her up a grand set of stairs with the banister supported by roaring lions. It was completely deserted. He led her into a bedroom with a large 4 poster bed sitting in the middle. He turned, closed the door and then turned to Natalia. She stepped closer and kissed him. It was easy enough for her to fake passion as she pushed him onto the bed. As she straddled him she reached for the knife that was concealed at her hip and before Dimitri knew what was happening she slit his throat.

Her mission was complete but now she had to worry about the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that were in her way. She knew that they had the exits covered and if she tried to walk out they would shoot her. As she reached the foot of the stairs she heard frantic whispering from the hallway. She couldn’t quite make out what they were saying but judging by the snippets she could hear and the American accents, she guessed there were four S.H.I.E.L.D. agents discussing what to do about her. She smiled to herself; the idiots had brought in the sniper she saw positioned out the back to kill her if she left. She stepped out into the hallway.  
  “You know, it’s rude to talk about someone behind their back.” She spoke in accented English. The agents all had their pistols trained on her, but before they could shoot she had already moved and pounced on the closest agent. She used this man as a shield against the bullets fired. She dropped his limp body and jumped on to second man. The men were hesitant to shot her because they didn’t want to harm another agent; the Widow took advantage of the lapse and snapped his neck with her thighs. One of the men then fired and hit her leg but this didn’t stop Natalia, she pulled the gun out of the dead agents hand and shot down the other two.

She stood up. The pain was excruciating. However, Natalia knew she couldn’t stop, there would soon be police swarming the place because of the gunshots. She limped painfully down the hallway into the kitchen. She knew there was an exit here because of the blueprints she stole. All the chefs were too busy to notice her slip round the back and out the door. All she had to do was make it to the safe house. She crossed the road and slipped into the shadows on the other side. She staggered to the end of the street, the pain was blinding her. She had to keep going. There was a car that she knew she could hotwire, the police sirens sounded somewhere in the distance of the silent night. She was in; it took everything she had to keep focused on the wires at her feet.  
  “There!” She heard someone yell from the building she had just exited. The car roared into life.

Natalia sped away from the scene. She only had a small head start but she knew how to use it. She had learnt the city streets off by heart in case of an emergency. She saw a car in her rear view mirror speed out the street she had just come from. She veered left into a side street. Her heart was hammering against her chest, she had to lose them, she had to escape, she can’t fail the mission. There was a screeching of tyres as she swung the car into a sharp right turn onto the main road. She sped up. Even though it was two o’clock in the morning there were still cars in front of her. Honking her horn for them to get out the way she overtook them speeding towards the centre of the city. She knew this was a bad idea but right know she had no other options. She streaked onto the motorway, glancing at her wing mirrors she saw that she now had three cars tailing her. She accelerated even more. Up ahead she saw two trucks, before she had time to think she sped in between them her heart racing and not daring to look back. She knew her car was smaller than her pursuers, she heard a crash. _One down two to go_ she thought to herself. Keeping her foot flat to the floor she weaved in and out of the cars. Up ahead she saw an exit and charged right at it. One of the cars had managed to catch up to her. She jerked the wheel to the left and rammed into it, the car shock from the impact as she fought to regain control. She pulled out the gun and began to shoot through the windows. She rammed it again this time she managed to push him into the railing, he lost control and began to spin, the third chaser was coming in to fast and couldn’t avoid him. Natalia saw in her rear view mirror the carnage left in her wake. She left and made her way to the safe house. She avoided the main roads this meant it took double the time to return but she didn't run into any more trouble.

When she reached her destination, she climbed out the car. She knew it wasn’t long until she was going to pass out. She entered the house, made her way to the bathroom, picked up the medical kit and started tending to her wounds. The doors and windows were locked and Natalia was glad for the peace.

Nick Fury slammed the case file down on his desk in frustration.  
  "Those were my best agents!” He was sitting in his office at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. The view out of his window was of the whole of the city. The rest of his office was empty. He had no family and no other interests apart from his job. The only furnishings were his desk and the chairs surrounding it. They were occupied by Maria Hill and Phil Coulson. Fury had sent out his best men to try and put down the elusive killer that goes by the name of 'Black Widow'. No one knew exactly how many kills she had under her belt because she never left evidence. Previously she had not been a major threat to S.H.I.E.L.D. but recently had taken out one of their most reliable informants. He spent months preparing for this mission; he had tried so hard to make the plan fool proof. But it was like the Widow knew what was coming and just danced her way out like they were nothing.  
  "Sir?” Coulson enquired from the corner of the room. He was a short man who was much smarter than he looked. He was Fury’s most trusted agent along with Hill, Nick valued their opinions and trusted their judgements.  
  "Could we try Barton? He has the best shot I have ever seen and maybe what we need a change of tactics.” Barton was S.H.I.E.L.D.’s secret weapon. He could hit a fly from 100 meters away. They had found him freelancing for some dodgy black market dealers and drinking away his troubles.  
  “I know he isn't one of our more... obedient agents, but perhaps that is what’s necessary. Sir." Nick looked at him curiously from his good eye. Coulson had a point. Black Widow was used to plans and how to sabotage them, but what about an individual with a plan of his own? It might put her off balance because why would they send an immature circus performer after a world class assassin? Fury would like to know the answer too but for now it’s worth the risk.  
  "Send him up. I'd like to see what he can do." There was a hint of a smile on Coulson's lips as he left the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys this chapter's about Clint being introduced to the mission so there isn't any action, sorry :(

It was 5 am but Clint Barton was already up and heading down to the shooting range. It was where he spent most of his time at S.H.I.E.L.D., it was one of the few places he felt comfortable, along with the gym. It was reassuring holding his bow in his hand and just shooting. Thud, thud, thud. Arrow after arrow hit the bulls-eye, splitting each one straight down the middle. He could stay there for hours with his headphones on listening to his classic rock. He had spent most of his year at S.H.I.E.L.D alone either working out or shooting targets. The few missions that he had been involved with hadn't ended well for everyone involved. As a child he always had a knack for attracting trouble, this talent had unfortunately not worn off as he got older. Barton’s childhood was not something he wished to dwell on. Normally everyone left Clint alone when he was shooting, apart from his mentor, but when Coulson tapped on his shoulder that cold, September morning, he couldn't help but be surprised.    
  “Agent Barton, Fury would like to see you in his office” Normally sentences that began with ‘Fury wants to see you’ never tend to end well. As he made his way to Fury’s office through the labyrinth they called Headquarters, he racked his brain to think of things he could have possibly done wrong over the past week. Nothing sprang to mind. He made his way up the cold steel steps leading to floor 43. Clint always preferred to take the stairs rather than the lift. He didn't like to trapped in a metal container with strangers who might not be who they appear to be.

Clint knocked on the door.    
  “Come in.” Nick fury always had a sense of power wherever he went, today was no different. He was standing next to his window looking out over the city. However, when he turned around he seemed tired. Barton had never seen him like this before.    
“Agent Barton, you must be wondering why you are here. Please, sit.”  Barton made his way over to the desk. Cautiously he sat down and looked down at the desk. There was a file on it reading ‘CLASSIFIED’. Clint's stomach sank.     
"We need you to neutralise a threat. She goes by the name of Black Widow." Fury watched his reactions closely but Barton knew better than to let them show. He knew how dangerous she was. When he was working on the black  m arket  he had heard whispers of her track record, she was ruthless and never failed a mission.    
"She has become a  danger  to S.H.I.E.L.D. and our previous attempts have been unsuccessful. But it has come to our attention that perhaps we have been coming at it the wrong way, this is why Agent Coulson suggested you. This mission is not to be taken lightly and any mistakes could be fatal. Agent Barton,  your skills and way of working is very different to anyone else I have ever come across. You could be the man we need but I need to know that you would be fully committed to the task. "  Fury looked at Clint as though he could see his mind working away, looking at the challenge and calculating the risk.    
  "I  have no reason not to accept or complete the mission. " Fury slid the file over to Clint as he stood up . He seemed to believe that Barton would stick to his word despite his track record.     
  "We have reason to believe that she will be Japan over the next month. Unfortunately, that is the extent of our knowledge. Normally we have more information to go on but  she is one of the best spies out there . You will be flying tomorrow at 0500 hours. I expect you to have read the file and if you have any questions, ask Agent Coulson.” Clint could detect the finality in his voice so he picked up the file.    
  “Thank you Sir.”  Clint was grateful for the opportunity to prove himself and show off the extent of his abilities.  He made his way over to the door but before he left Nick spoke.    
  “Barton, the Widow is a master when it comes to lying and acting to get what she wants. Don’t make the mistake everyone else has.” Clint  t urned and looked at Fury. He had his back turned and was looking out over the city. He was thankful for the warning.    
  "I'll try not to Sir."  Clint retreated into the hallway and   closed the door behind him. _Well_ , he thought, _time to get to work._

Clint sat  at his table  and opened the file. He spread the contents of it out in front of him.  He had read targets files before but he had never seen one with so much detail. S.H.I.E.L.D. may not have wanted to take her out but they still had kept tags on Miss  Widow . There  was a file  from what looked like 30 years ago.  Clint  picked  it up. It read: 

BLACK WIDOW OPERATIONS PROGRAM by  PROFESSOR  GRIGOR CHELINSTOV

He began to read.    


New research into areas like  psyco -analysis  is becoming more and more advanced. This has allowed us as humans to widen our horizons and look further into things that yesterday were impossible.    


It went on like this for a while talking about development into areas like  biotechnology  and psycho-technology. This was the basics of the Black Widow program and the scientific ideas behind it. It had logged experiments  from the very first attempts at  performance enhancing drugs; they were supposed to increase simple things like endurance and muscle  strength , but the effects were  devastating. It also began introducing ideas like the ability to alter people’s memories but also the ability to wipe them and replace them with something or someone  else 's .  As  Clint finished and placed it back into the Black Widow’s file,  he found a list of all of the suspected names of the Black Widow.  Nadine Roman ,  Tsarina,  Oktober , Laura  Matthers ,  Natalia Romanov a,  Nancy  Rushman , Natalia  Shostakova ,  Natuska ,  Czarina . Clint sighed, how was he supposed to find and follow someone if he didn’t know their name? The only thing he was sure about was her face but even her appearance could be altered. Exasperated, he carried on reading.

By the time he had finished going through the pack it was late afternoon. He tidied it all up and headed out into the kitchen to grab something to eat.  S.H.I.E.L.D. had supplied Clint with an apartment  when he first of all joined. Well after he had been let out of questioning. It   was  quite large, with a reasonable sized kitchen and living room.  The living area contained a table, which he had been working at, a small soft sofa made from leather which had storage space underneath, and a TV that was hooked up to his state of the art sound system and D-V-D player. After he had found something to eat, he made his way to his room to pack his bag. The walls were painted a very pale blue-purple colour and he had very few personalised items around.  There were no photographs, no  posters; you would think it was a hotel room apart from the fact there was a chest of drawers and a wardrobe full of clothes. Clint's laptop sat neatly on his bedside table along with a spare pistol. He had his other one tucked in his trousers. He didn't need to worry about packing his ammunition because S.H.I.E.L.D made sure he had enough. He packed the clothes he thought he might need and the some others that S.H.I.E.L.D had sent him. Once he was satisfied that everything was ready he settled down in front of the TV, ready for the early start tomorrow.

 

0500 the next morning Agent Barton was boarding the  quin -jet with his SO, Agent Phil Coulson. Clint wasn’t sure if and when he would be coming back home, but if he was totally honest he didn’t really care. He had no family here, no friends. There was no one left to care for him, they were either dead or missing. This was a high risk operation that had so many holes in it was  sinking  before it had even left shallow waters. Despite all of the issues, Clint knew what had to be done and what was at  stake if this mission failed. Very few people had ever  believed  in  Clint so the faith put in him by Fury and Coulson gave him an extra boost and desire to make them proud.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to upload and sorry its short but you know school stuff takes priority. So this is back to Natalias point of view any feedback would be really appreciated :)

Natalia Romanova had flown all day in order to arrive under the cover of darkness. The dark makes it harder for unwanted parties to track her back to the safe house. The Tokyo mission was a infiltration mission, her job is to work her way into the company and gain information before she can kill her target. She found out about the mission when she returned from the Czech mission. There was no choice in the matter; once her leg had healed she had to leave. It only took 2 days due to her enhanced healing process. Once Natalia reached the safe house, it was more like an apartment than a house, she punched in the code and scanned her finger. The door opened and she stepped inside to find her stuff already sitting by the door. They were transported separately because travelling through security with her widow bites and pistol probably would have drawn unwanted attention her way. She looked around all the rooms, gun in hand, to make sure there was no one waiting to pounce on her. Resetting the code was next on her list so she was the only one who could access the house. You can never be too careful, she told herself. Looking through the small suitcase she found her pyjamas and sighed with relief. It had been a long day and all she wanted was a rest. However, one thing she failed to notice was the man sitting on the roof on the other side of the road. Oblivious, Natalia drifted off to sleep. 

The alarm bleared to life waking Romanov from her slumber. She was used to minimal amounts of rest so to have what is classed as a 'regular night’s sleep' was a luxury. The next few weeks probably will not be as relaxing. After Natalia had gotten ready and had breakfast, she settled down and began looking through her case notes. She looked through her profile again, not that she needed to since it was already memorised. Her name was Nadine Roman and she was going to be working as a PA for Kyuichi Yanasaki, the CEO of a large technology company thought to have threatening information on the Soviet Union. Her mission was to find that information and destroy it. One thing on her checklist was to learn the cities road and railway system, if she didn't know them it would make it extremely difficult to get away.  So Romanova picked up her coat and headed out.  

Japans roads are very complex which makes it harder to memorize. Not like New York where there is a clear grid structure and the only difficult thing is remembering the one way system. There seemed to be an endless amount of roads and an infinite amount of junctions and turnings.  Also, to make things even more challenging, Japanese was not Natalia's strongest languages. She could speak it and hold a conversation easily enough, but the written words were much more difficult to learn. As she made her way through the throng of people towards the centre of the city, she could sense a pair of eyes watching her, analysing her. She reached inside her pocket and felt the reassuring cold of her pistol. She looked up ahead and by what she could tell there were 3 hit men waiting for her trying and failing to blend into the crowd. Natalia knew and understood their threat even so; she didn't think the pair of eyes belonged to them.  But before she had any more time to look for the stranger the hit men turned and started running at her. She made a turn onto a busy side road filled with dodgy bars and the howling sound of drunken karaoke singers. Keeping up her pace Natalia looked frantically for another road or path to head down. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the men enter the ally she was in. Crap. As she reached the end she turned left and broke into a run. Sprinting through the crowds of people she spotted a shop where she could hide. She darted in and hid herself by standing behind the rack of clothes, the men ran past the window without looking in because they thought she had kept going. Cautiously Romanov walked outside, as she made her way back down the street she heard one of them shout   
  "SHIT! SHE'S HEADING BACK THE WAY WE CAME!" Natalia jumped and without waiting for them to catch up ran blindly through street after street trying to shake the men. After the third turning one of them pulled out his gun and began shooting wildly at her, he missed but shot someone's lovely flowerpot that smashed into tiny pieces, petals floated down gently to rest beside the carnage. She heard a child scream in agony. It felt like a stab in the heart. She kept running though, nothing was more important than the mission. The men kept shooting as she pulled out her own pistol. She veered right and hid behind the dumpster. As the men careered round the bend it wasn't hard to shoot them down in quick succession. Slowly she stood and dusted herself off; the child’s screams were still ringing in her ears. Romanov had never thought of anyone's safety but her own, but all Natalia could think was about the agony that child was going through because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that terrified her more than anything else. 

When she reached her apartment it was almost dark. All she could think about was the fact she cared about that child. _Why?_ That was the only thought running through her head as she made her way around Tokyo, learning as she went. Where the busy places were, where the dodgy places were, were the expensive places were. She stored all of the information for a later date, but the _child_. As she walked inside she pushed the thought as far back and down as it could go. _I have work to do_ she told herself. Natalia realised that she had to change her hairstyle if she wanted to blend in a little more. Her striking red locks may be more trouble than their worth. She made her way to the bathroom and picked a colour from her emergency hair dye selection. She picked one up ‘Hot Toffee’ it read. She shrugged and turned on the water. A few hours later she exited the bathroom looking like an entirely different person. Her long red curls were gone and replaced by short brown ones. It was late and considering it was her first day tomorrow she decided to head to bed.


End file.
